Personal Grudge
by Rydd Rider
Summary: I'd like to think that she didn't die... Now she's back, and she's looking for someone. Who am I talking about? Read it and you might find out! Read and Review please! Rated both for safety and later chapters. Book 8 spoilers! You were warned!
1. Looking For Answers

**I was going to wait a little longer before starting this fic, but the plot bug bit me and I was really impatient to get started on this thing. Thank you to all who reviewed the story 'Flashback', all new authors need people like you. So, here's my new fanfic. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ranger's Apprentice, or any of the characters. Not even the main character in this fanfic that you won't recognize… Yet! *evil grin***

She sat inconspicuously in a corner of the inn, eating her meal and keeping to herself. And listening intently, though no on else noticed. In the past few years, she'd become a fairly decent eavesdropper, able to seem to be doing practically anything while listening in on a conversation. She'd also learned how to stop the obvious reactions to shocking news. Not that she'd been able to put the last skill into effect lately. She had yet to hear what she was listening for. A normal Araluen could probably simply ask for the information without seeming too suspicious, but her Gallican accent marked her out as a foreigner, therefore, not privy to that information.

She withheld a smirk. Her Gallican accent was completely fake, to throw anyone who might be looking for her off her trail. It wouldn't pass by a native Gallican, but it was passable to anyone without an expert ear. She could do a decent Araluen accent as well, but surrounded by natives as she was, her own native tongue would undoubtedly push through in a vowel or consonant here or there, showing her own language, if only remotely.

And she did not, even remotely, want to be connected to her native land. Well, at least not until she found what she was looking for.

Which, due to the close-mouthed nature of the townspeople when the wanted topic arose might not be ever. She'd been in Araluen for three months and had only eliminated nine fiefs from her mental list of where her prize might be. Only forty-one fiefs to go. Hurrah.

She suppressed a sigh of frustration and went back to eavesdropping, listening around for any talk that might tell her what she wanted. A few old farmers two tables away were talking about the lack of rain that spring. Some women were complaining to each other about the increasing prices of buttons. Putting her skills to work, the rifled expertly through several muddled conversations, she finally found one that might hold what she was seeking.

Two men were talking at the table coincidentally right next to her own, something that had to do with a dispute in a town near the northern border of the fief—Araluen Fief, to be exact.

"Heard that old Ranger went up to sort it out," one man said, his words slurring somewhat. He looked to be about thirty-five, with a ragged, short beard. She noticed he was holding a tankard of ale; it had to be his third that night, hence his slight slurring of speech.

She nearly yelled in frustration. 'Old Ranger' was hardly a description to go by. She needed a name! She was about to finish up her meal and go outside to vent, but then the conversation took a turn for the better.

The second man shushed the first hurriedly, glancing around like they thought someone was listening. Which she was, but she was careful not to broadcast the fact. "You shouldn't go around calling Rangers 'old'," he muttered quickly. "They're black magicians, after all." She highly doubted that, from what she knew of the Ranger Corps. Which, admittedly, wasn't much, but all the same. "And," he continued in the same hushed tones, "Ranger Crowley is their _leader_. He, least of all of them, would take kindly to being called old."

She settled back, a contented smile threatening to break out onto her lips. So, she'd finally struck gold. She amended her thought. She'd struck _silver._ Not exactly what she was looking for, but close. Now she could get out of this heaven-forsaken fief and be on her way. Maybe she'd go to Whitby Fief next; it didn't honestly matter to her as long as she could get away from here. Then she heard something else in the continued conversation.

"Did you hear about those two Rangers from Redmont traipsing off to Hibernia or somewhere?" The first man asked.

She perked up and listened. What on earth did any fief need two Rangers for?

The second glanced at him nervously, then his curiosity won out. "No, I didn't hear about that. I hardly even knew Redmont had two Rangers." The unspoken question was nonetheless evident, and the other man was happy to oblige him.

"Well, there's definitely two of 'em there. Though you have to wonder why. It's not like Ranger Halt is an amateur. I'm surprised they need someone like Will Treaty to back him up."

She kept her eyes carefully trained on the tabletop, still absently scooping food into her mouth. It was all motion, though, with no thought behind it at all. Her thoughts were going a hundred miles an hour, racing through her head and tumbling over themselves. She couldn't believe her luck in gathering information tonight. Bag Whitby, she was going to Redmont.

After shoveling the last two and a half bites into her mouth all at once, she stood abruptly. Swallowing as she walked, she strode over to the counter where the innkeeper stood, observing the traffic of his inn. He saw her coming and turned to face her, a slightly forced smile on his face.

"And how may I be of help to you, Miss Kietleen Arratez?" he asked her amiably, butchering the Gallican name. It was only a pseudonym, but no one here was to know that.

"I only came up here to inform you that I will be departing in the morning," she replied, her fake accent plastered over the true one. 'Kietleen' was ready to leave right then, but a good night's sleep would be necessary before she began the journey to her destination. "Here is what payment you have required," she added, sliding some gold coins across the table. The innkeeper nodded.

"Very well, I hope you have a good night's rest, and a fortunate journey when you go on your way." Kietleen nodded absently, already walking towards the stairs, her thoughts far away. She had much to plan, much to do, plenty enough to keep her busy. Finally, after months of waiting, searching, watching and listening, she'd done it.

She'd found him.

A smile touched her lips, a true one, reaching her eyes and lighting up her face. She enjoyed what she was doing, she enjoyed it very much.

**DUN DUN DUNNNNNNN. So, who's she looking for? Why is she looking for them? Who is she? Heh, this is gonna be fun! I will not update until I get a few reviews—I have to know someone's reading this. And liking this. I have no clue how long this is going to be, but I do have a main plot that I will keep to myself if I don't get reviews. So, review! I need your input! Anything you have to say, any suggestions would be great. Criticism's fine, I want to know what I did wrong, but don't be completely rotten about it.**

**-Rydd Rider**


	2. Cozy Little Nooks

**People, thanks for reviewing. By the way, if this story is confusing, it's supposed to be at least somewhat confusing. And it will probably continue like that until the last chapter. Unless you're an expert detective dude and have already figured it out. But don't spoil it for everyone! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ranger's Apprentice. Wish I did, but I don't. *sigh***

Kietleen led her horse out of the stables the next morning nearly before dawn. She was impatient to get started, and so had not even stayed for breakfast. She'd only snatched a few rolls from the kitchens, and that would have to pull her over until lunch.

She swung into the saddle and started off, in the direction of Redmont. It would take several days to reach it, but it would be worth it. She would have found him at last.

She'd never expected it to take nearly this long. Kietleen had thought she would be in this country for perhaps a month, maybe even two, clear up some unfinished business, and be on her way to her next destination. She hadn't counted on those stupid Rangers being so hard to find. Araluens had a nasty habit of claming up whenever the topic arose. The Ranger Corps was definitely shrouded in mystery. Presumably that was the way they liked it.

She directed her horse through the streets, dodging the townsfolk as she finally left the town. She set her horse into a steady pace, a canter that he could keep up all day. She wasn't wasting anymore time if she could help it. She had a task to accomplish.

* * *

Five days later, she and her horse finally trod slowly into Redmont Village. Kietleen could actually see the castle itself, just over the tops of the trees. It was and impressive castle, she had to admit, though she wouldn't be staying there.

Quickly, she found and inn and got a room for three nights. She knew exactly what she was going to do; she had spent most of the trip here thinking about it. First, the reminder, next, the visit. She wasn't leaving here until she was done.

Although it was still several hours till sundown, she went to bed anyway, hoping her horse had the same sense. They were going to have a busy night tonight.

* * *

Just before midnight, Kietleen slunk out of the inn, careful to remain unseen. While she was fairly adept at this, she in no way compared to a Ranger. One of them would find her instantly; there was no doubt about that. Hopefully both Rangers were already asleep in their cozy little nooks. She just had to find the cozy little nooks.

After leading her horse out of the stable, she mounted him and began the ride down to the castle. Near the end of the road, however, she took a turn off towards the woods, riding into it a ways. Several minutes into the forest, she dismounted, patting her horse on the neck as she led him to a nearby tree. She tied him to it to prevent him from wandering off, then continued deeper into the woods on foot.

Half an hour later, she came upon what she was looking for. A small cabin sat at the edge of a clearing, only big enough to house a person or two. Now she just had to find out which of the Rangers, if not both, inhabited this house.

She crept around the tree line, gliding from shadow to shadow as well as she could. She approached the side of the cabin and saw a small stable housing a pony. It was definitely a Ranger's pony, and there was only one, which meant only one of the Rangers lived here, but for the life of her she couldn't tell which one it was. She'd never seen either Ranger's mount, and she'd only actually seen one of the Rangers.

It looked up at her, about to whinny, but she tried to quiet it.

"Shh, boy, I'm not going to hurt you," she whispered.

It snorted at her. _You come sneaking in here then expect me to believe that? _The sound seemed to say.

Kietleen frowned. "Don't be cheeky, I'm telling the truth." She'd really lost it now. She was talking to a horse.

The pony tossed its head. _Sure you are._

But at least it stayed quiet, although Kietleen could swear it was watching her for any suspicious activity.

Kietleen had seen a window near here when she'd approached. Now, she carefully sidled along the wall over to it. Slowly, she turned and peeked through the window into an empty room.

It was small, and seemed to be a spare bedroom of sorts. There was a bed on one side, a bureau, and a small nightstand, surprisingly with a vase of wildflowers on it. What kind of mysterious Ranger would have flowers in his home? Although she believed she knew of one who would do something like that. Did both of them? She couldn't be sure.

Either way, her answer did not lie through that window. She wound around the house, looking for another window. Near the front of the house, she found it. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She really hoped the Ranger was actually sleeping.

Opening her eyes again, she turned and faced the building, rising from her crouch so that just her eyes peeked over the windowsill. She saw a prone figure lying on a bed. Relief washed through her briefly—he was asleep.

Carefully, she allowed her head to rise higher for a better view. He was young, with messy brown hair framing his fair skinned face. Kietleen reasoned that his dreams were pleasant or nonexistent, if the peaceful expression as he slumbered was anything to go by. A strange look on a Ranger's face.

She ducked her head below the sill once more, feeling disappointment hit her. So he wasn't here. It would have been much easier if he had been. _But then, when has anything ever been made easy for you, Kietleen_, she asked herself, her inner voice putting extra stress on the assumed name.

This was going to be a very long night if she wanted to go through with this.

She had better get started.

* * *

Kietleen left her horse near the tree line, once again tying him to a tree trunk. Quickly and competently, she scaled a tree that would have a good view of the castle. She scrutinized the castle with narrowed eyes, going over every tower and window.

"Now, if I were a Ranger, where would I hide in a castle," she muttered. Then a thought occurred to her and a smile tugged at her lips. "Or, if I were a castle, where would I be hiding a Ranger?"

After watching for a while, and thinking of her knowledge of castles, she figured that his rooms would probably be in the southeast tower, which she thought most likely harbored the craft masters. Though there _were _a lot of windows. This might take a while.

The guard was on a very specific pattern of watch; he would be simple enough to avoid. She'd spent the greater part of her young life evading guards for a little bit of freedom. Besides, it was midnight, and the slightly overweight guard was almost falling asleep.

She practically walked right past without him seeing in the act of going towards the wall. It wouldn't be too tricky to climb, as there were handholds and footholds aplenty. She decided not to waste anymore time and proceeded to climb upwards.

She peeked into the first window—just an empty bedroom. The next was the same. The one after that had someone in it, but she saw almost immediately that it was a woman. The fourth window had a man in it, though she knew immediately that it wasn't the one she was seeking; he was much too large. And on and on it went, peeking into windows and determining that none held the one person she was desperate to find. Was he even in this tower? Doubts began to sprout within her mind, worming their way to her resolve.

_Three more windows,_ she told herself._ Three more windows and if he's not in any of those, I'll call it a day—night, whatever—and I'll go back to the in and get some rest._

She climbed wearily up to the next window, lifting her eyes over the sill and into the room within, where she automatically sought out the bed. She found it, and there was a man in it, a smallish one. Hope flared in her chest, then was extinguished as she saw blond hair on the pillow. He was most definitely _not _blond.

_Next window,_ she thought miserably. She hoisted herself up the wall and looked into the next window. Disappointment curled in her gut. There was a large bed, and two people in it, a couple. It couldn't be him.

A large, breathy sigh that could possibly have been some kind of snore sounded and before Kietleen had time to move, the one closest to her, the man, turned towards her, still sleeping. The face caught her attention and nearly made her lose her grip. It was Halt.

_He's married,_ she thought with surprise. She couldn't stop a ridiculous grin from breaking out on her face. Then it suddenly disappeared and she eyed the blond woman next to him critically. _Or, at least, he'd better be._

She shrugged the thought away. Halt wasn't really _that_ morally deprived. Only his brother was.

She glanced around the room, looking at it a little more closely. There was a desk covered in official-looking papers, many with seals that also looked important. She frowned. The way they were stacked didn't look like Halt's handiwork. Perhaps they were his wife's, depending on who she was. There was a second, slightly smaller desk nearer to the window, with a comfortable chair near it. The papers on this desk were much less neatly distributed around the desk, which looked much more like Halt's style. Also, a great majority of the envelopes and documents were sealed with the Rangers' Oakleaf. Definitely his.

She took the letter she had brought with her on this escapade and set it carefully on top, where it was sure to be seen. The seal she'd placed on the envelope wasn't recorded anywhere, but perhaps Halt would remember. Perhaps.

Carefully, she climbed back down the wall, being wary of the sentry as she dropped lightly to the flagstones. After making her way back to her horse, she rode back to the inn, slipping inside without waking anyone. She'd accomplished her first task. The reminder. And shortly would come the visit.

**Wow, that was a fun chapter to write! Funner than the first, anyway. I totally just want to spend my summer doing this. Unfortunately, I have summer school. My mom's fault entirely, I had no choice in the matter. But I'll still have time to write, especially on the weekends, as long as those don't get hijacked too, so I guess I'm okay . So, good so far? Do you want me to keep posting this? If you don't say, I don't know! Review!**

**-Rydd Rider**


	3. A Reminder and a Dagger

**Okay, third chapter. I wasn't going to update this fast, but I didn't have much to do today and I finished the chapter. This is getting funner by the day. Anyway… I'll just start the chapter because you probably came to read that, not my ranting. Oh, one last thing, any Gallic in this fic is just French off of Google, in case anyone was wondering.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ranger's Apprentice. End of story. (Wow, that was a terrible pun…)**

Halt woke up to see that Pauline was already up and doing her paperwork. He sighed.

"Any particular reason you're up before the sun?" he asked his wife.

She spared him a glance as he sat up. "'Up before the sun'?" she quoted. "Hardly. It's an hour after sunrise. You slept in and I wasn't so heartless as to wake you up."

"_Wasn't?_" he muttered.

"What was that?" Pauline asked in a falsely innocent tone. She'd heard him, all right.

"Nothing, nothing," Halt replied hurriedly. The only thing in the entire fief of Redmont, or practically in all of Araluen, that could intimidate him was his wife. Not only was she a diplomat, but she was, well, his wife.

He swung his legs out of bed, stood up and walked over to his desk. He should probably get started on this mess before Pauline began pestering him about it rather than after. Besides, none of the senders would be happy if he didn't send the necessary replies soon. He sighed and sat down. Just as he was about to start, he noticed that Pauline was heading toward the door.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Rangers," she muttered. "Too curious for their own good." Halt pretended not to have heard that. "I'm going to the Baron's office for a meeting. Only for the diplomats," she added, anticipating his next question. _And he thinks Will asks a lot of questions._

He nodded. "I'll see you when you get back," he said.

She raised an eyebrow. "Will the fief be managing itself today?"

The corner of his mouth quirked up in a grin. "No, but I think Will's going to have a little extra work to do. He agreed that I needed to clean this up," he said wryly, gesticulating to the mess on top of his desk.

"You owe your apprentice so much," she smiled, kissing his cheek and sweeping out the door.

Halt felt no need to reply. She was right, after all.

Sighing heavily, he turned toward his workspace. This was going to take a while.

He picked up a envelope sealed with the Ranger's Oakleaf. He broke the wax and read it. Something about him needing to go up to sort out a gang of thieves in one of the northern towns of Redmont. He sighed again. He'd leave tomorrow. He moved to the next one.

But this one wasn't a normal report. For one, he didn't recognize the seal off the top of his head. It looked somewhat familiar, but he couldn't place it. He'd seen it before… where?

He broke the seal, opening the letter. Inside was a single sheet of paper. He didn't know why, but that paper made him a bit nervous. Slowly, he unfolded it. There where only five words on the page. It wasn't signed.

_Vous avez rompu votre promesse._

Halt was fairly fluent in Gallic, so he knew almost immediately what the message said. _You broke your promise._ His brow furrowed. Who had sent this? He knew of no Gallic person he'd made a promise to. Or maybe they weren't Gallic? But he didn't even know anyone who knew Gallic that he'd made a promise to. What the heck was going on? He didn't know how the letter had gotten onto his desk, it hadn't been there last night, he was sure; something was going on.

* * *

Kietleen walked briskly down the road, aiming for the inn she was staying at. The sun was already setting. She'd been asleep for most of the day, but in the later hours of the afternoon, she'd decided to get some exercise. Now she was trying to get back before full dark. Luckily, she wouldn't have to have any midnight 'strolls' tonight.

She was walking past a dark alley when she heard something, a shuffling of feet, perhaps. Then a voice came out from the shadows.

"You there."

Kietleen paused for a moment, then realized her mistake. She tried to continue walking, but it was to late—there was a man blocking her way.

"Yer a little dark haired beauty, aren't ya?" he said, grinning like a maniac. He was wearing rather drab clothes, and had a general air of dirtiness about him. He was a bum or something of that sort. Kietleen knew she shouldn't have even paused. A little too late for that now, though.

He advanced, and Kietleen stepped backwards, listening for other footsteps to see if there were others with him. Fortunately, he seemed to be alone.

Suddenly, he pounced, taking Kietleen by surprise and dragging her into the alley. She pulled away, but he dragged her in close. Punching him solidly and suddenly in the nose, she tried almost frantically to get out of his grip, but he was too strong. He pushed her up against the stone wall of the alley and glared her in the face, the blood dripping from his nose where her fist had landed. Kietleen felt fear spark in her chest as she saw the man was drunk. _This just keeps getting better and better doesn't it,_ she thought. By the look in his eyes and the smell on his breath, she was surprised he was even walking straight. She let out several foul curse words at her predicament, throwing a couple Gallic ones in there for good measure.

He smirked crookedly. "Bit of a foul tongue you got there, dame." She now heard the definite slur to his words from the drink.

Reacting as forcefully as she could, Kietleen brought her knee up. As it hit where his legs connected, he crumpled—forward, unfortunately, landing practically on top of her. She heard something metallic, then felt a crippling pain explode in her side.

The drunkard stood up, looked down with a lopsided grin to where she lay on the street, and swaggered off.

Kietleen could barely breath. What could cause so much pain? With great difficulty, she looked down at her abdomen. She gasped in disbelief as she saw it, bringing even more pain to her already agonized body.

Sticking out of her side, allowing her blood to seep between the cobblestones, was a dagger.

**Ooohhh, I'm bad. Yes, I just got her stabbed. Mwaa haa haa! This story just keeps getting better and better. To write, anyway. What's going to happen next? Review and I'll tell you. Yes, that was a bribe.**

**Ideas, constructive criticism, praise, just about anything but pure flames, kay? Thank you!**

**-Rydd Rider**


	4. Healers and Humor

**Wow, fourth chapter. I'm breezing through this. But then, it's really incredibly fun to write. Thanks for the reviews, peoples.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ranger's Apprentice. Deal with it.**

Will quietly moved through the town, ghosting between the streets. Sometimes things happened after sundown that wouldn't happen anytime else, but tonight seemed fairly quiet. He couldn't see anything out of the norm. Stealing a glance up at the stars, he saw that even they seemed peaceful. The moon was full, too. Will was grateful it prevented the night from being completely black, or it would have been harder to—

_Splash!_

Startled, Will looked down to where he'd stepped in a puddle. But it wasn't quite right; it was too dark a color for water and to thin a consistency for mud. He felt a sickening clenching in his stomach as he realized what it was.

Blood.

Perhaps the night wasn't as quiet as he thought.

Quickly, his eyes traced the crimson liquid to a body barely half a meter away. The only reason he hadn't seen it earlier is because he'd been looking at the sky and it hadn't moved at all. He stepped over to the body of what he could now see was a woman, crouching over her and looking for the wound.

He found it in her side, with the hilt of a dagger sticking out just under her ribcage. He was relieved to see the slight rise and fall of her chest. Her face, framed by dark hair in gentle curls streaked with gray yet still beautiful, thankfully lacked the waxy pallor of a corpse. At least she was alive, for the moment; although, if the streams of blood leaking from her side were anything to go by, she would be dead soon without help.

Moving carefully, he applied pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding. He didn't dare remove the blade, as it would probably do more harm than good at this point. Now he had to somehow get her to a healer's. There were three in the town, and the nearest one was about a fourth of a kilometer away. He would need to move as quickly as he could without injuring her any further. He slowly picked her up, beginning the long task of getting her to a healer's home.

* * *

Will knocked loudly on the door of healer Damon's home, hoping he would be ready to answer even at this time of night. Healers always seemed to be on call, though, no matter the time, and this one was no exception. He opened the door with only a slightly sleepy look in his eyes, and even that disappeared when he saw Will's grim expression and the unconscious person in his arms.

"Ranger Treaty?" he asked. The cloak identified him as a Ranger, and the two Redmont Rangers' names were well known. There was no way this young man was Halt. Will nodded.

Damon gestured to the woman, voicing the obvious question. "What happened here?"

Will shrugged as best he could while holding her. "I don't know. I found her in an alleyway like this, almost dead."

"Come in, come in," the healer said, motioning with his arms for the young Ranger to enter with the patient.

As he stepped inside, Will's eyes scanned the small home. There were herbs and medical instruments on the walls, and as he was led into another room he saw several cots lined up.

"Set her down here," the healer ordered, waving at one of the cots. Will complied, resting the unconscious woman on the indicated cot. Damon spared him a glance, taking in his general appearance to decide whether he needed attention too. "That blood's not yours, is it?"

Will glanced down at himself and saw what he was talking about. There were a few streaks of blood trailing down his clothes. Will looked up again and shook his head. "No. It must have gotten on me when I was carrying her," he explained.

Damon nodded absently. "Must of," he echoed. He frowned and busied himself with cutting the fabric of her shirt around the wound. "You were right not to pull out the dagger, that would have made it even worse. I'll have to pull it out now, though. I'll look after her."

Will nodded. "Thank you, Damon.

Will scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Would you tell me when she's okay? I'm rather curious as to who attacked her."

Damon nodded. "Of course. In fact, I'll be moving her up to the castle tomorrow or the next day. She needs prolonged, constant care, and I'm afraid I can't provide that for very long." He paused, then added as an afterthought, "do you happen to know what her name is?"

Will shook his head regretfully. "No, and I don't think she's a local either. Maybe she was just passing through and she was mugged."

Shrugging, the healer turned back to the task at hand of treating the injured woman. "Alright, run along home now. There's nothing you can help with." _Short of finding her, that is,_ Will thought, resisting the urge to roll his eyes while also suppressing a smile. Healers were the only village folk who weren't afraid to order the Rangers around; they'd seen them at their worst, after all.

Glancing one last time at the unconscious, seriously wounded woman, Will left the house.

* * *

The dawning sun woke to see a grizzled, grim faced Ranger riding toward a certain cabin in the trees. When he reached it, he quickly dismounted and opened the door, wincing as it squeaked noisily, despite the fact that it was how he himself had always kept it. He mused that it would be quite the prank to oil the hinges, but discarded the thought; no laughs would be worth subjecting his apprentice to the possibility of an ambush.

The sight that greeted Halt was anything but a pleasant one—Will lay on the couch, unmoving, with blood on the front of his shirt. Fear gripped his heart and he lurched forward.

"Will!" he exclaimed, grasping his former apprentice's shoulder.

The younger Ranger animated with a start. His eyes shot open and he was instantly perplexed at the expression on Halt's face. "What?" he shot back instinctively.

The sudden awakening and quick answer caught Halt by surprise. He blinked, then said, "Are you hurt?"

Will gave him a quizzical look. "Um, no actually, I'm fine. Your concern is touching, though, thank you."

The statement caused Halt to pause. The look that crossed his face would have made Will laugh if he hadn't been so confused. "But your shirt…" The older Ranger trailed off uncertainly, and that wasn't something you heard every day.

Will, still with a baffled look on his face, looked down at the said shirt. Then his features contorted into and expression that left Halt at a lost right up until the moment Will exploded into laughter.

By the time he had finished his giggle fit and looked up, Halt had quite the disgruntled expression, setting him off once more.

"What, may I ask, is so funny?" Halt asked, his words short and clipped.

Will recognized the warning tone from years spent as his apprentice. He struggled to bring his laughing to a stop, and finally succeeded, leaving him only gasping slightly.

"The blood's not mine; it only got on me because I had to carry the victim to a healer's home. I'm sorry, Halt, it's just so funny. You automatically assumed the worst and you were worried, it was almost, well, cute,"—Halt's eyebrows drew together angrily at that, but Will wasn't finished yet—"and you just looked so confused."

For the first time, Will noticed just how hard Halt's glare was at the moment, and wondered if he shouldn't have said it all quite like that.

Briefly, Halt considered how badly he should hurt Will to teach him a lesson. Then he mentally threw out the idea. He couldn't go damaging his former apprentice, no matter how stupid he was being. He simply resorted to glaring at him harder than he ever had at most anyone.

Will shifted uncomfortably. Halt was glaring at him hard enough to knock him over. The older Ranger crossed his arms to add to the effect.

Finally, Will dropped his gaze. "I already said I was sorry, Halt," he told the floor.

"I don't believe you meant it," his former mentor said icily, making what he expected next quite clear.

Will ground his teeth. He should have seen this coming. "I am sincerely sorry for laughing at you and I will not do it again because it was a very juvenile thing to do," he muttered as quickly as he could. It was the standard apology format Halt had insisted on during his apprenticeship: You're sorry for _what_? You won't do it again _why_? Thankfully, his mentor had hardly ever forced such a demeaning thing upon him. This time he wasn't being so favorable.

"What was that?" Halt said smugly. "I didn't quite catch it."

Will suddenly found himself in a sour mood, but he forced himself to say it again, slightly louder this time. Halt nodded curtly, a self-satisfied smirk on his face. Revenge was sweet.

"So, what is the blood from? And why where you sleeping on the couch?" Halt asked in an abrupt change of subject.

Will seized the chance to avoid further humiliation eagerly. "Well, last night I came across this woman in an alley, she'd been stabbed and was unconscious and dying. I carried her to healer Damon's home and left her there. He said he was going to take her to the infirmary at castle Redmont in a few days. I'm going to ask her who attacked her when he does. Anyway, when I came home it was late and I was really tired, so I sat on the couch. I only meant to sit for a minute, but I fell asleep."

Halt looked at him, no emotion in his eyes whatsoever. "That was a thorough explanation." He commented at length.

Will spread his hands in a helpless gesture. "You're the one who asked," he said. Will than felt the need to change the subject once more. "So, what brings you here? You don't usually drop by like this."

Halt's features adopted a hurt look. "Does that mean I can't? Am I not welcome in this home?"

Will just stared at him disbelievingly. Halt finally relented.

"I've got a couple bandits to chase down in one of the northern villages. I'll be gone for a week, possibly a little more. You're in charge of the fief until I get back."

Will nodded. "Alright, but why am I ending up with the whole fief and you're ending up with a couple bandits?" he asked as the thought occurred to him.

Halt glared at him again. "Crowley's orders, don't ask me."

Will shrugged. "I guess it works for me. See you in a week or so."

Halt nodded and left. Will looked down at his somewhat bloody shirt one last time. He shook his head.

"Everyone keeps taking that the wrong way," he muttered as he went inside to change.

**Wow… did I seriously just right that last part? It was fluffy to the extreme. Basically, all you need from this chapter is that Kietleen's not going anywhere for a few days and by then Halt will be chasing after bandits. Hmmm… This is getting way to fun to write.**

**So, likey, no likey, either way, REVIEW! That's all I ask. Oh, and no flames, please.**

**-Rydd Rider**


	5. Mistimed

**I haven't been having the greatest of weeks. My mom completely hijacked my life last week, so I had practically no time to write and then when I finally did find the time I got a major case of writer's block, which I'm pretty much over now, thank goodness. Every time I tried to write this story I just completely blanked out. Overall, my week has sucked. But you probably don't want to read my ranting. Oops. Kay, here's the story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ranger's Apprentice. Deal with it.**

Kietleen woke gradually, her senses slowly swimming up towards the surface of consciousness. She didn't open her eyes, simply lying there and exploring with her other senses.

Every breath and every heart beat sent fresh new waves of pain radiating from her side. But it wasn't quite so bad as before, and she could feel that it was also bandaged. She was wearing a gown that wasn't her own, and was lying underneath starched sheets. The air around her was somewhat cool. She guessed that she was inside a healer's home, or maybe even an infirmary. She was, at the very least, safe for the moment.

She listened for a moment, trying to make sense out of the buzzing sound near her. As it came into focus, she realized it was two people conversing.

"He'll be back in a week or so," said one voice, a young male. "Besides, Halt can look after himself, he'll be fine."

There was a sigh from the other participant in the conversation. "I know," they said, this one a female. "But I always worry about him, just like I did when you went to Arrida, and Hibernia too. It's the natural instinct of a wife, Will." There was another sigh, this one heavier.

Kietleen had already gleaned quite a lot of information from the dialogue, even as little as she had heard. These two were Will Treaty and Halt's wife, although her name remained a mystery. But what in the world were the two doing here? Apparently Halt's wife had the same question.

"Why exactly are we here, Will? Or is there not any particular reason?"

"I'm here because I'm waiting for her to wake up so I can find out who stabbed her and you're here because you decided to follow me around expressing what great doubts you have in your own husband's ability." The last part was said in a lighter tone than the rest, indicating that it was only a passing jibe. "Really, Pauline, he'll be perfectly fine. And when he gets home, he'll have a merry little chuckle when he finds out how little faith you have in him. Well, _his_ version of a chuckle, anyway."

"Which would be a grim smirk or a sarcastic comment," she said, a laugh in her voice.

"Yep, that's about right."

Kietleen decided it was her turn to break up the conversation. She groaned and let her eyelids flicker open. The Ranger had a definite grin on his face, and it seemed to hold permanent residence there. This was quite the cheery Ranger. The woman standing next to him had the air of someone with competence and knowledge. This was Halt's wife, Pauline, apparently. She was a diplomat or something of the sort, by the looks of it.

They both looked down as she feigned only just waking up. "Where am I?" Kietleen asked. She was surprised at how hoarse her voice sounded, though it added to the desired effect of a defenseless victim. The question, however, was authentic; she wanted to know where exactly she was. Any doubts were unacceptable to her mind.

"You're in Redmont castle's infirmary," the Ranger, Will, said gently. He seemed to buy the 'defenseless victim' pose. Of course, it wasn't entirely a pose; she was injured, and she needed the help she was apparently being given here in the infirmary. Besides, if Halt wasn't going to be back for a week, she might as well get some rest and regain her health. She might even get the chance to scout out the insides of this castle. She brought her mind back to the conversation.

"How did I get here?" Kietleen asked.

"I found you stabbed in an alleyway. I brought you to healer Damon's and he sent you here. Do you know who attacked you?" The explanation was followed so quickly by the question Kietleen blinked. She wasn't used to people questioning her, she was used to listening in the background and not being seen.

She paused for only a moment, then answered, "I don't know. It was just some drunk. I was walking to the inn and he surprised me."

Will nodded. "So you don't know his name? Drunkards carrying daggers aren't exactly safe."

Keitleen shook her head, then stopped as her head began throbbing. "No, I don't know his name. I'm just passing through. I'm actually from Gallica," she lied easily. Luckily, since she'd had to use her fake accent so often lately, it had been there instinctively, despite her not consciously choosing to use it. It was a defense mechanism, Kietleen supposed.

Will nodded again, completely believing. "Long way to travel. Visiting friends of the family?" he asked lightly.

Kietleen resisted the sudden urge to laugh. _Friends of the family indeed._ But she instead said, "No, I've just always wanted to see Araluen. I'd heard it was a great place. I thought so too, until I got stabbed," she added.

"Sorry about that, it doesn't usually happen. Just the occasional drunk." Kieleen wondered what on earth he was appologizing for. It had been a drunk who wielded the dagger, not him. Though, as a Ranger, he was supposed to keep his assigned fief safe for others. Maybe that was why.

"You can stay here until you heal," he told her. "Then, I'm afraid, you'll have to leave."

A thought struck Kietleen. "My horse is still at the inn," she said, a touch guiltily.

Will glanced at her. "Which inn? I'll send a stable hand to get it for you and it can be stabled here at the castle."

Kietleen told him the name of the inn. He nodded once more and turned, Pauline following him to the door, only to have him stop as he reached the entrance. Will turned around, a grin of chagrin on his face.

"And who would that stable hand be retrieving a horse for?"

It took a moment before Kietleen realized what he meant. Then she smiled. This whole time the Ranger had forgotten to ask her name. "Kietleen Arratez," she supplied. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a thoughtful expression cross Pauline's face. Kietleen hoped against hope that she didn't know Gallican, though she knew her husband did. But her face cleared, and she made no comment. Perhaps it had simply been interest in the Gallican name itself, and not its meaning. Perhaps.

Will smiled again. "That does sound Gallic." Then he turned and left, Pauline sweeping after him.

* * *

Halt looked down at the tracks—or rather, where his sense told him the tracks should be. He couldn't believe this. He'd lost the trail. He must have made a mistake in the village he'd just left. Maybe he'd taken a wrong turn on one of the roads, or his information was inaccurate, or… The possibilities went on, but they weren't the things that mattered right now. He needed to know it the bandits had ever even been to the town. If they hadn't, it would take longer than a week to sort this out.

Nearly three hours later, his search confirmed what he'd feared. The information he'd gotten in the report was false; the bandits must have moved to another town after it had been sent. Halt sighed, somewhat frustrated. This was going to take longer than a week. He'd be on this for an extra couple days at least, possibly even be out here for another week and a half, depending on when and where he could pick up the trail.

Halt swung into Abelard's saddle and began trotting in the direction he was fairly sure was his best bet. This was going to be an annoying mission.

* * *

The week passed slowly for Kietleen. She ate what she was given, didn't talk much as the healers bandaged her wound, and listened to whatever conversations were going on. Which was boring her very quickly; it wasn't as if there was anything important going on in the infirmary. If only Halt could return, then she could finish up and leave…

Well, the Ranger seemed to be taking his sweet time with whatever mission he was occupied with at the moment. Kietleen was ready to howl with frustration. At least when she'd been traipsing through the fiefs she'd been doing something. The forced inactivity was wearing her down very fast.

But at least she wouldn't have to wait too much longer. Only, what was it, three days left and then Halt would be here. Then she would be done.

When the three days had passed, however, he hadn't come.

She waited anxiously, her patience running thin as it ever had. She'd give him five days, and then she was going to find him, wounded or not. He'd better be here by then. She wanted this over with, already. And it could be finished, quite soon, actually, as long as he was back within five days.

But he wasn't.

**Alright, I think my writer's block is gone for good, at least until it comes again. (Okay, that just made no sense, but you catch my drift.) That wasn't the greatest chapter I've ever written, I promise the next one will be better... I hope. Actually, yes, I do promise. There's a bit more action in that one. Tell me what you thought about this chapter, though, cuz I won't update again until I get a couple reviews. I need to know that someone appreciates me writing this, and likes it. So, REVIEW!**

**-Rydd Rider**


	6. Sudden Departure

**Okay, then, here's the sixth chapter. Hope you like it.**

**Random comment: Kietleen is pronounced _Ky-et-leen_. My brother read this story (right of the jump-drive without my permission) and kept pronouncing it _Keetleen_, which bugged the crap out of me, and we had this whole argument over it, so... just keep that in mind.**

It was almost midnight. The moon was nearly full, missing only a sliver from its perfect circular form. Its light flowed almost liquid-like in through the tall window of the castle infirmary, falling directly onto the features of Kietleen Arratez. The light illuminated her face, calm, serene and close-eyed. But she was far from sleeping.

She listened intently, and hearing nothing, she flicked her dark eyes open. She gazed up at the ceiling for a moment, then slipped silently out of her cot. She knelt down and pulled a rucksack out from under the cot. Along with her horse, Ranger Treaty had told the stable hand to bring her belongings from the inn, so now she had her things with her, something she was very grateful for.

She slung the rucksack over her shoulder and ghosted over to the door. Her heart skipped a beat when she tried the handle and saw that it was locked. What kind of infirmary locked up their patients? Well, maybe if those patients were mentally ill it would make sense, but she certainly wasn't. Of course, it might as well not be locked, for all the trouble it gave her.

She produced a set of lock picks from her rucksack. She pulled one of them out of its niche and stuck it into the keyhole, carefully moving it so it would be effective, but still silent. Finally, a telltale click told her that the door was opened.

She pushed it open slowly, wincing as it creaked slightly. But it wasn't loud, so she doubted it would wake up any of the other patients.

She walked lightly down the halls, moving quickly, but knowing that silence and secrecy were her best weapons. She crept down the stairwells and out through the courtyard, heading toward the stables. If she was going to escape, she needed her horse.

The stables weren't locked, and there was no guard. She pushed open the stable doors, slipping inside and scanning the stalls for her horse. Not seeing him immediately, she whistled softly. A nickered answer told her where he was. She walked quickly over to his stall and undid the latch. Leading him out carefully, she had to open the stable doors wider to get him all the way outside.

The guards didn't see too much wrong with a rider pelting out of the gates. Presumably it was someone with an important message. No one seemed to be chasing them, at any rate. Kietleen rode past in a full gallop, figuring the fast approach was best. She was quite relieved when the speculation turned out to be true.

She stopped at the tree line. She had one last thing to attend to, one thing that was necessary but that she was not looking forward to with her still-aching side.

She went back to the castle wall, leaving her horse tied to a tree. As she had only two nights ago, she began to climb the wall of the southeast tower, this time heading directly to Halt's quarter's window. She knew he was gone, but she didn't know where to. At the very least, she needed somewhere to start.

After peeking over the windowsill, she saw that Pauline was not yet at home. That was strange, even if it did make her job much easier. She dropped lithely into the room, stepping up to Halt's desk. It was in better shape than before, if not by much. She examined the seals and chose one that looked fairly recently read. Scanning it quickly, she saw that it had nothing to do with a supposedly week long mission. She continued her search, well aware that these were confidential documents and she could be imprisoned for reading them without permission. On her sixth letter, she found it. _Bandits that need your attention… Terrorizing villages… _She found the name of the village. It lay up in the northern part of the fief. She should be able to get there and possibly pick up the trail. Her side still hurt, but she would be able to manage.

Just as she was climbing back out of the window, the door opened. Kietleen dropped, trusting her arms to keep her secured to the ledge. She felt her shoulders strain and hoped that Pauline would get to bed soon. She heard the diplomat fall onto her bed with an exhausted sigh. She must have had a long day, especially as she was only just getting home at midnight.

She had to swing a bit to get her toes in contact with the wall, but once she achieved that, she was securely against the wall within ten seconds. She climbed down quickly, getting to her horse as quickly as possible. Without hesitation, she set her horse into as fast a pace as he could keep up without running to ground. She needed to catch up with Halt.

* * *

The healer's apprentice walked nervously up to Will. "Ranger Treaty?" he asked hesitantly.

Will turned and smiled. "Yes?"

Despite the warm greeting, he was still visibly nervous. "Do you remember the woman you brought us about a week and a half ago?"

Will's expression turned thoughtful. "Kietleen the Gallican? Yes, I believe I do. Did something happen?"

The apprentice nodded. "She ran away. Her side wasn't completely healed either. Her horse is gone from the stables, her bed was empty and her rucksack was gone. We don't know why she left so early. Our head healer said to tell you, since you brought her here."

Will smiled again appreciatively. "Thank you for telling me."

The healer's apprentice nodded again tensely and walked away, very grateful the Ranger hadn't gotten angry.

Will wandered through the castles halls with his cowl shoved back up over his head, wondering why on earth Kietleen had left. He hoped it didn't have anything to do with his comment that she couldn't stay once she was healed. Perhaps she had thought she was healed and would have to leave. On the other hand, he'd gotten the distinct impression that she was smarter than that. As a reflective thought, he recalled that there had been something almost familiar about her. He frowned. He couldn't think of where he'd know a Gallican woman from.

His thoughts switched from Kietleen to Halt. His former mentor was already a few days late. That certainly wasn't his style. Despite what he'd told Pauline, Will began to worry. He wished there was something different happening to take his mind off that. He thought of Kietleen's sudden departure. Maybe he could go and find her and see why she'd left. Some sixth sense was telling him he should, but he couldn't be sure that wasn't just his desire to be doing something.

He walked out to his cabin, putting some coffee to brew and slumped in a chair, arguing with himself whether to go or stay. Half an hour later, he stared into his half empty mug of honeyed coffee and continued to debate the same thing. He was still worrying about Halt and was subconsciously urging himself to go after Kietleen. Coming to an abrupt decision, he stood and gulped down the rest of his coffee. Moving quickly, he threw together some traveling supplies. He walked out to the stable where his loyal pony stayed.

"Ready, Tug?" he asked, and the Ranger pony cocked his head.

_Are we going somewhere?_ he seemed to ask.

"You bet," the Ranger replied. "We're going on a fieldtrip."

* * *

Kietleen grimaced and put a hand against her aching side. When she pulled it away, it had blood on it. Her wound had reopened. Just great.

She swung out of the saddle and rifled through her bags, searching for the extra bandages she'd snatched from the infirmary. She wrapped her side up quickly, but made sure it was tight. She climbed into the saddle once more, thinking that this forced travel couldn't be good for her injury, but knowing that she would go insane if she just sat healing in an infirmary while she still hadn't gotten to Halt.

The town was about a day and a half away now, possibly less if she pushed herself. Her horse could handle anything she could at the moment, seeing as she was somewhat weak and her horse was only just below the Ranger horses' standards in endurance.

She set her horse back into a canter, gritting her teeth against the pain in her side, heading further north.

**Did you know writing constantly for hours wears you down? Bet you do if you've ever done it! ^_^ I've been typing for the past two hours on several different stories while being in a car on a family trip, with two more hours to go. What fun. Isn't sarcasm such a wonderful thing?**

**R&R, you know the drill. I like to know people are still reading this!**

**-Rydd Rider**


	7. At Last

**There's a lot of POV changes in here, not to first person, but it switches people a lot. That's why there's so many line break thingies.**

**Finally! The chapter I've been looking forward to since I started this fic!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own it.**

Halt had finally caught and packed away those infuriating bandits. Now he could finally go home—several days late. He ground his teeth. He would usually already be on his horse and determinedly homeward bound, but he suspected there might be a second group of bandits. He'd seen a few signs, though they weren't exactly concrete evidence. They might be there or they might not. He couldn't be certain.

He growled in frustration. He wanted to get back to Redmont castle, but he wouldn't leave a job half done. Pauline would no doubt be worrying, Will might be too, but they would just have to stick it out. He'd be home soon enough, after this whole darn bandit business was done.

He examined the track once more, blurred by a rainstorm two days ago. It was bad enough knowing that he was still that far away, but it was worse not knowing whether they were bandits or family on a picnic wandering through the woods. The water blotted out too much.

He growled again, then snarled for good measure. He'd follow the trail until he knew enough to discern who they were, then he'd decide his path from there. He'd better find them soon. This mission, so elementary at the start, was seriously beginning to wear on his nerves.

At least it wouldn't get any more complicated. What could interfere?

* * *

Barely two days later, Kietleen watched carefully as some bandits slipped past where she'd hidden herself in the small village. The small town was south of the one where the bandits were supposed to have their lair, but she felt in her gut that Halt would come back this way. And after years of living off her instincts alone, she trusted them implicitly. These bandits were proving her instincts right; she was sure these were the same ones Halt had been following.

She climbed carefully down from the roof she'd perched herself on, dropping when there was only two meters left and landing lightly on her feet. She slipped nearer to a building, hiding behind a corner of the brickwork were she could once again see where the bandits were going. At the moment they seemed chaotic, but she knew they were searching the city, presumably for something they hadn't already plundered before they went to the next town.

She heard light footsteps behind her. Spinning around, she saw a man who she recognized as the leader of bandits. He was grinning. Never a good sign on a bandit's face.

"Well, well, looks like we forgot to pickpocket someone in this pretty little town. Would you mind just handing it over? This doesn't need to get ugly." The grin turned into a sneer as he tugged a dagger free of its sheath with a _shing_.

Kietleen stumbled quickly backwards. She had no intention of repeating the events of a night more than a week and a half ago. Her feet didn't seem to share her aims, however. She tripped almost immediately over an uneven cobblestone in the road. She fell to the ground and heard two somethings clang out of her rucksack, one rather large and noisy but the other smaller, if not too much quieter. With a sinking heart, she realized that the side pouch in her rucksack had opened. Of course, the one pouch with contents she'd rather not have found was the one that's clasp broke. Her and her rotten luck.

With narrowed eyes, the bandit leaned down and picked up the two metal objects. One, the smaller one, appeared to be a seal. He didn't recognize it, but he automatically assumed that it had been copied. A woman like this wouldn't have her own seal. The second object he was more familiar with. It was a medallion, about five inches across, connected to a ribbon that had once been fine, but now was rather ragged. The face of the medallion he recognized from an escapade to Hibernia. It belonged to Clonmel's royal family.

* * *

Will was finally catching up. This Kietleen woman he was chasing had quite the horse. It was keeping her still ahead of him. But then, he hadn't wanted to push Tug very hard. He'd had to for the past day, though, and was gratified to find that she couldn't be more than an hour or two ahead of him.

When he found her in the town, near a bandit, he hoped she wasn't working with them—for her own sake. With in a few moments, however, it was obvious that the truth was anything but. The man unsheathed a dagger and Will nearly took hand, remembering, as Kietleen was at the moment, how she had gotten stabbed in the alley near Redmont. When the two objects fell out of her rucksack, though, he was admittedly as interested as the bandit was. He nocked an arrow to his bowstring but neglected to draw it. He was curious as to how this would pan out.

He didn't know that his former mentor was thinking nearly the exact same thing on the other side of the alley, having followed the bandits tracks and finding them leading here. Will didn't know that Halt was there at all.

And Halt didn't know that Kietleen was the one sprawled on the cobblestones.

* * *

The bandit stared at the medallion, surprise on his face.

"That's the medallion of Clonmel's royal family," he said in a perplexed tone, unaware of the two Rangers' reactions, which were startled but small—they weren't amateurs, after all. "Where did you come across this, miss?" the bandit asked suspiciously.

Kietleen glared him full in the face. "It's a copy, you idiot. And not the greatest I've seen, either. The faces are completely inaccurate if you compare them to the actual people."

The bandit sneered. "Ah, yes, and I suppose a little Gallican traveler like you would know of something such as this?" Kietleen thanked her lucky stars that her Gallican accent still protected her from the truth.

"How do you think I got the copy?" she shot back brazenly. "Of course I spent a little time over there."

She began to get up, but the bandit brandished his dagger at her. She stayed, reluctantly but sensibly, where she was.

Neither Kietleen nor the bandit expected the black-shafted, gray-feathered arrow to come whistling through the air and bury itself in the bandit's wrist.

* * *

Halt strode forward after sending his arrow in, unaware that he had nearly made his former apprentice jump clean out of his skin. Will hadn't been expecting Halt to suddenly appear.

The older Ranger stepped forward and, with a striker in hand, thumped the bandit solidly on the side of the head, knocking him out. He grabbed the medallion from his limp grasp and examined it briefly. He snorted.

"Copy, my foot. Where did you get this? This is the real one," he said, turning toward the rising woman. "You're a lying—" It's debatable what he would have said next, for he stopped abruptly when he saw Kietleen's face as she looked up and gave him a small smile.

_No, _he thought. _It's not…It can't be…_

For one of the few times in his life, Halt was speechless, due to the woman standing before him.

* * *

Will didn't understand how Halt had gotten there, though he supposed that it had a reasonable explanation. These must be the bandits he'd been chasing, which is why he'd come and why he was late coming home. Apparently they'd avoided him somehow. He could expect a great amount of teasing from Will on that account.

What was not so easily explainable was why he had suddenly stopped speaking when he saw Kietleen's face. Not many people could make Halt stop in the middle of a sentence, and a majority of them were people that he wanted dead so thoroughly that he couldn't be bothered to finish his sentence until they had been dealt with. The other portion were those who had succeeded in convincing him he had to shut up in a moment or there would be consequences. The only people he'd heard of managing that last task were Pauline, who accomplished it nearly daily, and Crowley on occasion. He and Gilan had been able to pull it off once together, but that was the running total.

It didn't seem to be either. He couldn't find a plausible reason for the sudden speech standstill, or for the expression of shock on Halt's face, or the expression of delight on Kietleen's.

But the most unexplainable thing was the fact that she _hugged _him. A random Gallican woman simply walked up and hugged the un-huggable Halt. And he hugged her back in a tight embrace. Halt's eyes were closed and he murmured something into her ear.

It was all completely and utterly unexplainable by Will's standards.

* * *

Halt couldn't believe it. How had she gotten here? He didn't really care for the answer to that question at the moment, however. She was here, and that was the end of it, as far as he was concerned.

Not to mention the fact that he was expending most of his energy and thought process trying to not reduce himself back to that sobbing young boy he'd been when he'd seen her last. He couldn't spare the extra thought.

He held her a little closer and buried his face in her hair, inhaling the scent he'd almost forgotten.

"Caitlyn," he murmured softly into her ear.

**I'll let you think about that last part…**

**All I ask is that you review! Please! The little whatever-colored button right below is just begging you to click it!**

**Thanks for reading, don't worry, this isn't quite done yet. There's still another chapter or two… Maybe three, it depends.**

**-Rydd Rider**


	8. Conversation Between Friends

**This is mostly just conversation and a lot of back-story that I made up for this fic. It explains a lot of things that people might not care about, but I felt like I needed everything to make sense. Though I have to admit, while some of this was kept in mind throughout the story, a lot of this was made up on the spot, so sorry if there are any inconsistencies. Have fun!**

**Kietleen will henceforth be referred to as Caitlyn, because that's who she really is, unless it's Will talking at the beginning-ish 'cause he's kinda still confused… On to the story.**

**Disclaimer: Did any of you actually think I owned it? Hope not, cause I don't.**

A still-confused Will stepped out from the shadows, unnoticed by the currently occupied Halt. He approached uncertainly, not wanting to interrupt in case his former mentor took revenge for it. Finally, the two broke apart.

Will coughed apologetically. Halt started and spun towards him, surprise showing on his face. His brow furrowed slightly.

"Will?" Halt obviously hadn't been expecting him.

"Halt." Will's gaze shifted over to Caitlyn. "And Kietleen? Do you two know each other or something?"

Caitlyn rolled her eyes. "Oh, no, of course not. Halt and I just go around hugging complete strangers for the fun of it," she said sarcastically.

Will gave Caitlyn an odd look as Halt gave the same to Will. "Kietleen?" Halt asked. But before Will could answer, Halt said, "Never mind, tell me later. Why did you come back?" he asked Caitlyn.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "What, I can't visit you if I feel like it?"

Halt raised an eyebrow right back. "Not after more than thirty years of silence, no."

"You're one to talk," she grumbled. She relented. "All right, I came here because…" Caitlyn sighed dramatically and put an elbow on Halt's shoulder, whapping him playfully on the side of the head. "Do I seriously need to answer that? You're not _that_ daft, are you?"

Halt glared at her for the insult, but it had no heat. They were close, Will realized. Close enough that Halt didn't have to hold up his grim reputation around her.

"_Vous avez rompu votre promesse,_" she said, as if that explained it all. Which it might, if the listening person spoke Gallic. Luckily, Halt did.

"I broke my promise, did I?" he said. "And which one might that be?"

"You said you'd come home."

Halt gave her a wounded look. "I did come home."

Caitlyn's eyes narrowed. "Oh, and you didn't see it fit to visit your little sister?"

"_Little sister?" _Will exclaimed. "What?"

Halt held up a hand. "She's my little sister. No more questions or discussion until we get this bandit fellow here packed away. We'll set up camp and then get this whole mess sorted out."

Will nodded readily, eager to get this over with and figure out what was going on, but Caitlyn felt the need to sigh heavily and roll her eyes before nodding her head.

* * *

Halt set the coffeepot over the fire. He sat between Will and Caitlyn and rubbed his hands together.

"I can tell that this is going to take a while," he began, but got no farther due to Caitlyn's muttered "No, really?" He glanced at her sharply. "You are every bit as saucy as I remember," he said sourly.

"Good," she said cheekily. "At least I know your memory hasn't deserted you in your old age."

Halt tried to glare at her again—and failed once more. He had too much of a soft spot for his sister. "You're only a few years younger than me. You can hardly talk."

"And yet I still do," she mused teasingly.

Will had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. Halt was loosing terribly at this verbal sparring.

Halt poured coffee and passed a mug to Caitlyn and Will, keeping the last mug for himself and taking the opportunity to change the subject. He turned to Will. "I believe you called her Kietleen. Why?" he asked.

"She's the person I found stabbed in an alleyway." He saw the bewildered look on Halt's face and clarified. "You know, the time when you walked into the cabin and went all mother-hen on me because I had blood on my shirt and you though I was hurt?" Caitlyn snorted. Halt neglected the glare this time, perhaps realizing that that particular method was doomed to failure, but he turned to her all the same, somewhat annoyed.

"I didn't know it was your blood and there was actually a lot of it," he said testily. "You must have been bleeding quite a bit."

Caitlyn raised an eyebrow in what hit Will as a remarkably Halt-like expression. _Go figure,_ he thought. _They're siblings._ The thought still seemed strange to him. "So I was bleeding a lot, was I?" she said dryly. "You know, I hear that some people tend to do that when their side is used as a dagger sheath." Will couldn't contain a snort of laughter. Halt glared at him, then realized that the conversation had gone off track.

"You found her in the alleyway and…" he prodded.

"Oh, right. Um." Will took a moment to sip his coffee and gather his thoughts. "You know that she got to the infirmary, and that I had to wait until she woke up to find out who stabbed her."

"It was just an old drunk," Caitlyn put in. Halt ignored her. Will couldn't help thinking that he was acting toward his sister with quite the bizarre mix of annoyance and sibling love.

"When I asked her what her name was she told me it was Kietleen Arratez," Will continued.

Halt spewed his mouthful of coffee onto Will's bedroll.

"Hey!" the younger Ranger exclaimed.

Halt's shoulders were shaking and Will realized that he was laughing. Caitlyn had a self-satisfied smirk on her face. "What?" Will asked.

"Do you know what Arratez means in Gallic?"

Frowning, Will thought for a moment. "No, actually, I don't."

Halt had a trace of a grin on his face. "It means 'halt.'"

Will finally got the joke. "So that's why you two are laughing like fools."

Halt glared, but Caitlyn giggled. Her brother turned toward her.

"Thank you for the example, Caitlyn," Halt said. She rolled her eyes and kicked at him, but he caught her ankle and shoved it back in her direction.

"So, why did you do that, other than it being a joke?" Will said.

"It was supposed to be a clue," Caitlyn said. "I put a letter on his desk with my seal when I broke into his bedroom"—Halt glanced at her sharply at this, but Caitlyn ignored him—"and the message was in Gallic. He should have recognized the seal and seen the Gallic, and when he heard a traveler saying her name was Kietleen Arratez, it should have been fairly obvious who I was." She paused. "Apparently he missed something though."

"I didn't hear your pseudonym until after I found you," Halt said.

"You mean after _I_ found _you_," Caitlyn corrected.

Halt nodded, accepting the correction. "That, and I didn't recognize your seal."

Caitlyn was shocked for a moment, then glared at him. "So not only do you break your promise, you forget my seal."

Halt shifted a little, slightly uncomfortable under his sister's vicious glare. "You have to remember, I thought you were dead. It's also been over thirty years since I saw you or your seal last. And the Gallican threw me off somewhat."

Caitlyn huffed and folded her arms crossly.

It was then that Will realized something. "Wait a minute, if you're Halt's sister, why do you sound Gallican?" Caitlyn realized that throughout the conversation, she'd unintentionally continued to use her fake accent.

"Gallican?" she asked innocently, abandoning the Gallican accent in favor of her native Hibernian burr with no apparent effort. "Who said anything about Gallican?"

Will blinked in surprise at the change and opened his mouth to comment, then closed it again indecisively. He eyed her uncertainly.

She grinned, happy to provide an explanation. "I've spent a lot of time in Gallica during the past couple years. And it was part of my Kietleen identity."

"Why were you in Gallica in the first place?" Halt asked.

Caitlyn regarded him evenly, all former hints of joviality gone from her face. "Ferris nearly killed me," she said softly. "I'll not return to Clonmel while Ferris remains on the throne."

Will looked away and Halt glanced off to the side. Apparently Caitlyn didn't know that her other brother had been killed. This was going to be an awkward explanation.

"Caitlyn," Halt said gently. She looked at him warily, noting his altered tone. "Ferris no longer is on the throne. He was killed last year. Sean is now the king."

Caitlyn was speechless.

After several long, awkward and silent moments, Caitlyn found her voice again. "Killed?" she asked in a small voice. "He's dead? Sure, he definitely wasn't the best of brothers, but I wasn't expecting him to be picked off quite that fast. What happened?"

"He was shot in the back. By and assassin hired by a cult that we were over in Hibernia to stop not two months ago." Halt was the one who spoke.

Caitlyn glanced up from where she had been staring at the ground. "Yes, I heard about that in Araluen Fief."

Halt regarded her curiously. "In Araluen Fief? That was a secret mission."

Caitlyn snorted. "Then maybe they shouldn't send the two most famous Rangers in Araluen. That's hardly going to keep quiet. I didn't hear the reasons that you went, but the fact that you were gone was somewhat obvious."

"Once again, I feel like we're careening off topic," Will interjected.

Halt nodded. "That's true. So, Caitlyn, why did you leave Sean behind when you left?"

She looked a little wistful at the mention of her son. "I figured that he would be safer in Clonmel. He wasn't a threat of any kind to Ferris, and there would have to be a decent heir there to take the throne. I didn't trust any of the nobles. It seems I was right to leave him. If I'd taken him with me, one of the nobles would have taken the throne when Ferris died."

"Not to mention that impersonation would have been a bit harder to pull off," Halt mused.

The comment sparked Caitlyn's curiosity. "Impersonation?"

"Later," Halt said. He was beginning to feel a bit tired. "I think it's about time to get some shut-eye," he said abruptly. "We leave for castle Redmont in the morning." He got up and began to make his way over to his bedroll.

"Okay, and once we get there you can introduce me to your wife." Caitlyn's comment caused Halt to pause and turn back.

"How did you know about Pauline?"

Caitlyn raised an eyebrow. "I got into your bedroom while you were sleeping. I should dearly hope that the woman who was in the same bed as you was your wife."

Halt sighed. "Fine. Well, I'm getting to bed. Will, you get first watch."

"I'll take second," Caitlyn volunteered. Halt just shrugged and climbed into his bedroll.

**Lame ending, but fun chapter! Even if I did have to write the entire thing THREE TIMES! It didn't turn out the way I wanted it to the first two times… It may seem kinda weird that I got this one up that fast while rewriting it, but I already had started this chapter by the time I got chapter 7 up.**

**Yes, one of the next chapters will be Caitlyn meeting Pauline. That should have a fair bit of humor. And frustration on Halt's part. Should I put Will in it somehow? Tell me, I being indecisive.**

**R&R! I'd like to know how this turned out.**

**What the… Kay, my little sister is currently freaking out… Something about swimming, I think… Whatever.**

**-Rydd Rider**


	9. Opportune Meeting

**Have you ever noticed that 'Pauline' contains every vowel except O and that there's more vowels in it than consonants? Okay, sorry, that was super random, but I just spent fifteen minutes staring at her name trying to figure out how to write this chapter. Alrighty then, this is going to be fun. Hopefully.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ranger's Apprentice.**

Pauline sighed heavily and put her hands on her hips. Couldn't Halt keep his desk clean for at least a little while? She was growing frustrated, though she couldn't quite fool herself that it was all only about the desk. Where was he?

"So much for a week and a half," she muttered.

She strode over to her husband's messy desk and delicately leaned on a small corner where, by some miracle, there weren't any papers. She saw a letter on the floor and bent over to pick it up. She didn't recognize the seal. _Strange,_ she thought. She cast a quick glance at the door, then opened it. She was privy to the Ranger Corps' secrets, wasn't she?

_Vous avez rompu votre promesse._

That was all it said. It certainly wasn't written in Araluen. It wasn't even signed. What in the world?

She didn't hear the door open behind her, but there was no mistaking the voice at her shoulder that said, "And here I was thinking I'd made my desk messy enough that you couldn't find anything to snoop into."

Pauline turned guiltily toward Halt. He reached forward to take the letter, but she tugged it out of his grasp.

"Do I even want to know what this is?" she said.

"Probably not," Halt replied.

Pauline gave him a flat look. "You're going to tell me anyway, though." It wasn't a question. She was his wife. She found things out. It was better for him just to suck it up and spill rather than risk her finding out a skewed version, or finding the truth in the wrong way.

"Well, you see," Halt said, "I can either tell you what the letter says right now and sit here for the next three or four hours explaining, _or_ I can introduce you to someone that I have to introduce you to anyway and let them do the talking."

Pauline shrugged. "I don't care which. Take your pick."

Halt didn't even think about it. He just said, "Come on," and headed out the door. Pauline stuck the letter into her sleeve and followed.

* * *

Pauline heard something through the trees as they rode on Abelard with her sitting behind Halt and wrapping her arms around his torso. It sounded like music. They were heading in the direction of Will's cabin, so perhaps the young Ranger was playing his mandola for whoever she was supposed to be meeting.

As they got closer, Halt slowed, and Pauline thought she could make out the tune, though she couldn't yet place the song. They dismounted and, finally, they got within proper hearing range. She recognized the song, and she also recognized the lyrics from something that Alyss had told her. Her eyes widened and she glanced at Halt. His stony expression confirmed it.

Will was singing Graybeard Halt.

She'd never heard it before, but Alyss had recited the lyrics from memory, and once she had, Pauline had fully understood why Halt had then forced Will to spend a night in a tree for singing it. He was rather touchy about his hair, whether comments were about the gray or the haircut. He would hardly react kindly to someone calling him 'Graybeard Halt', and the phrases themselves inside the verses weren't exactly complimentary either.

Whoever Will was performing for was obviously enjoying the song. Pauline heard gales of laughter coming from the approximate area where Will was. Pauline couldn't stop a smile of her own as she heard the lyrics. **(1)**

Halt stepped out of the trees. "Very funny," he said dryly. "Do you pollute the minds of everyone you meet by singing that song?"

Pauline followed, and saw Halt glaring at Will, who looked shocked at his former mentor's sudden entrance. The woman sitting next to him looked much less worried. Her dark hair was streaked with strands of gray, and her eyes danced with laughter. She was holding her sides and snickering at the look on Halt's face. She looked a little familiar to Pauline, but she couldn't place where she'd seen her before.

"You've got quite the ornery apprentice, Halt," Caitlyn said. "Even Ferris wouldn't have dared to sing that!"

Halt raised an eyebrow. "He was never much of a singer anyway. Besides, what he did dare to do was much more drastic," he said, his face darkening slightly.

Her smile faltered a bit. "That's true," she muttered. She looked up. "But what's in the past is in the past, right?"

"It was, until a certain someone decided to come back and haunt me," he replied, shooting her a glance.

Caitlyn glared at him. "I'd whack you, but I don't want to get up." She noticed Pauline for the first time. Her face brightened and she jumped to her feet, walking toward her. "You must be Lady Pauline."

"I thought you just said you didn't want to get up," Halt interjected. Caitlyn shot him a look.

"Not for you, no. But while I'm up…" she whacked Halt on the head. Pauline let out an undignified snort of laughter as Halt protested. Caitlyn turned toward Pauline and held out her hand. "I'm Caitlyn."

Pauline shook her proffered hand. "So, Lady Caitlyn, I take it you know Halt?"

Caitlyn stared at her blankly for a moment, then cast a baleful glance towards Halt.

"What did I do this time?" Halt griped.

"_You_ skipped out on your family history, from how it sounds." Caitlyn turned back toward Pauline. "Yes, unfortunately, I do know Halt. I'm his sister."

They both looked at Halt and glared.

He shifted. "Okay, how did I get two women angry at me?" Pauline and Caitlyn exchanged a glance. _He has to ask?_

Will came up beside his old mentor and slung a hand around his shoulders. "It's quite obvious, actually. You have just deprived them of a subject of gossip for goodness knows how long, and it has only just been revealed. That is a crime worthy of a jail sentence from a woman's perspective."

"And you would know this how?" Halt said.

Will blinked. "Um… Masculine instinct?" he said, fishing for a reply.

Halt gave him a withering glance. "Wrong answer, kid. Go home."

Will gave him a hurt look.

"Don't puppy-dog me," Halt growled. "Go back to the cabin and get that lute out of my sight."

"It's not a lute, it's a—"

Halt cut him off. "I don't care what it is, get it out of my sight."

Will gave him one last hurt puppy-dog look, then retreated reluctantly.

Halt turned back to Caitlyn and Pauline. The two women had smug looks on their faces, like they'd come to a silent agreement on something. Halt had a sudden, distinct sense of foreboding. This couldn't be good. "What?" he said warily.

"Start talking," Pauline ordered.

Halt blinked. "Excuse me?"

Caitlyn took over the narrative. "You are going to tell her everything you _should_ have told her when you married her."

Halt looked at one, then the other. "You know, I brought Pauline here so that I _wouldn't_ have to explain."

Caitlyn shrugged. "Tough luck."

"Like I said, start talking," Pauline added.

Halt closed his eyes briefly and sighed. _It's symbolic,_ he thought. _The only two people who I can't bargain with and have to listen to are both women and I'm related to the two of them_.

He sat down heavily on a log and, as was suggested…demanded…started talking.

**(1) I was going to put the lyrics to Graybeard Halt in there, but I don't own the fifth book, so I don't actually know what they are… If anyone who does could tell me what they are, that would be great. ^_^**

**Anna the Nut, I hope you were satisfied with Will's appearance in this chapter… You seemed very insistent that he be in it. lol, no really, thanks for the enthusiastic review.**

**Okay, from here on out, I've got two decisions: leave it here and call it complete or add another couple chapters. Actually, it's your choice. You want me to continue, I'll continue. Problem is, I'm fresh out of ideas. If you've got any, please review! Even if you don't, review anyway!**

**-Rydd Rider**


	10. Indication of Return

**Oh my gosh. It feels like forever since I updated! I started a brand new fanfic and got all the way up to chapter six before I realized that I hadn't updated this one yet. Sorry! ^?^**

**Last chapter, I said there were only going to be a couple more chapters at most. I lied. ^_^ The plot bug has bitten me once more. This story is going to go on for a while longer, though I can't even give a guesstimate of how many more chapters there will be. Heck, I could probably start with this chapter on a sequel, but I don't really feel like it. Anyhoo, here's the story—I hope that this chapter is satisfactory. It wasn't too easy to write. I don't know why.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ranger's Apprentice.**

Crowley rode up to Will's cabin from an angle, coming from the side of the house to the porch. He dismounted and walked over to the steps on the side of the porch. He heard a sigh and did a double take. He looked over and saw Will looking morosely at his lute… No, Crowley was pretty sure it wasn't called a lute, but the instrument's name evaded him at the moment. He walked silently up the wooden steps and suppressed a grin as he realized the young Ranger still hadn't heard him.

"Why the long face, Will?" he said casually.

Will jumped a good foot in the air and just about dropped his instrument. He turned to the Commandant. "For goodness sake, Crowley, don't do that! Sneaking up on enemies I can understand, but sneaking up on friends is just plain mean."

Crowley chuckled. "And since when have I ever had any inhibitions about being mean?"

Will had no answer to that.

"Where's Halt, by the way? I need to talk to you two."

Will raised an eyebrow. "Why would he be here? He lives at the castle now."

Crowley sighed. "Great," he grumbled. "Now I've got to ride up to the castle and get him. You know, it was much easier when you two were master and apprentice and just both stayed at the cabin."

Will grinned. "Alright, I guess you better get going to the castle."

Crowley sighed and was about to turn around when he saw an unwelcome glint in the younger Ranger's eyes. "Am I missing something?" he asked warily.

"What? No," Will replied, his eyes completely innocent.

Crowley eyed him distrustfully, then accepted his word and went to go get his horse.

"I'm kidding, Crowley. Halt isn't at the castle right now."

Crowley nearly growled. "Then where is he?"

Will smiled. "Busy." Crowley raised an eyebrow, but Will didn't elaborate. "Want some coffee?" Will asked in an abrupt change of subject, rising from his seat and heading toward the door. The question was a formality; he didn't actually have to ask. Of course a Ranger would want coffee. Crowley followed him inside.

* * *

Will and Crowley sat with their empty coffee cups in a comfortable silence. It had been nearly an hour and a half, but Will still hadn't said what Halt was doing. Crowley was about to ask again when there was a knock at the door and someone came in.

Crowley turned, expecting to see Halt, but instead it was a woman he'd never seen. He looked at Will, hoping for an explanation, but Will wasn't looking at him.

"Couldn't you at least wait until I said come in?" Will complained.

Caitlyn grinned. "What, and waste all that time?"

Will frowned. "I'm not that slow."

"Not at drinking coffee," Caitlyn smirked. "Speaking of which, is there any left?" she asked, noting the empty mugs.

Will raised an eyebrow "Think of who's here. Two Rangers. You should know that if the other Rangers are anything like me and Halt, there's never enough coffee to go around. The pot's empty."

Caitlyn checked the coffeepot anyway. Sure enough, there was no coffee in it.

"So, did you explain the whole thing to Pauline?"

"No, Pauline and I decided that Halt should explain," she said with a smirk. "He wasn't very happy about that, but he decided not to risk our wrath."

Will snorted. "Probably a good choice. Where is he now?" Will asked.

Caitlyn looked up. "Oh, he's going back to the castle with Pauline. Why?"

Crowley, who had been watching the conversation, groaned. "I've been waiting for him for an hour and a half."

Caitlyn gave him a look. "Try waiting for a _week_ and a half."

Crowley chuckled and Caitlyn gave him a dark glare.

Will jumped up. "I'll get him before he goes all the way home." He was out the door in a moment and began saddling Tug. Within a few minutes, he was riding through the forest.

Caitlyn raised an eyebrow as she looked out the window at him. Crowley got up and joined her, frowning as he saw Will and Tug disappear behind the trees.

"Where is he headed?" he wondered aloud. Caitlyn shrugged.

There was a pause.

"Do you think he knows he's headed in the wrong direction?" she asked.

"No, probably not," he replied.

Pause.

"Should we try to tell him?"

There was a third pause as Crowley took the time to think. He came to a decision.

"Maybe after some coffee."

* * *

It was a good half hour before Will returned with Halt. The older Ranger looked very disgruntled.

"All right, Crowley, what's this about?" he growled.

Crowley looked up at him from where he'd been chatting with Caitlyn over a cup of coffee. He settled back as if for a long explanation. "Well, you see, as you've recently gone to Hibernia, I've been looking at some old official papers of the relations between the six kingdoms and Araluen. We have a treaty with every one of them—or rather, had. Apparently the treaty with Clonmel is now null and void since King Ferris died. From what you've said about the newly crowned King Sean, I believe that I'm right to think that we can get the treaty renewed with him. Are you two up to it?"

Halt gave him a baleful glare. "We just got back, Crowley."

Crowley sighed. "Yes, I realize that, and I'm terribly sorry for pulling you away from whatever so drastically needs your attention."

"It's not that, I…" Halt gave an exasperated sigh. "And that's the downside of this whole 'special task group' thing. You're always the one to go."

Will grinned and clapped his mentor on the shoulder. "You signed up for it, Halt, now you have to live up to your agreements. Crowley, of course we'll go."

"Great," Halt muttered. "We're traipsing off to foreign countries again."

Crowley was about to point out that for Halt, Clonmel _wasn't_ a foreign country when Caitlyn cut in. "I'm going too. I've been planning on going to go see Sean anyways, and I might as well do so with my brother."

"What am I, chopped liver?" Will complained spreading his hands out in an annoyed gesture.

Caitlyn seriously considered the question, scrutinizing him. "You know, I think you might be. I see the resemblance."

Will's hands dropped and his shoulders slumped as he gave her a reproachful look. Crowley attempted to conceal his laughter and failed spectacularly while Halt just grinned slightly.

"It must rub off from master to apprentice," she added, and Halt's grin disappeared to be replaced with a scowl while Will snorted with laughter and Crowley guffawed all the harder.

"Very funny," Halt said sarcastically. "Crowley, is there anything else you need to know or can I get out of here?"

Crowley sighed dramatically. "But it's just so fun to annoy you, Halt, it's so easy." He saw the look on Halt's face and realized that, Commandant or not, he should probably start talking. "Well, you'll be taking Cassandra with you to make the treaty official. Apparently, Duncan still wants to give her a bit of practice in the more controlled situations."

Halt snorted. "Like Arrida?"

"Arrida was a bit of a screw-up, I'll admit, but it turned out perfectly fine, now, didn't it?" Crowley pointed out.

Will rolled his eyes. "Yes, after I shot the headsman that was about to decapitate Halt," he said dryly.

"And after Cassandra turned out to be quite the shot with a sling," Halt muttered.

Caitlyn looked up, eyes wide. "Now _that_ sounds like a story," she said. "Any chance of me hearing it?"

"No," Halt responded automatically at the same time that Crowley said, "Later, if you don't mind."

"Oh. Right, sorry Crowley," she said, but she glared at Halt.

Will smirked. "Halt's just jealous because he got captured and I had to be the hero and go rescue him."

Crowley sighed. "I'd prefer to get some sleep sometime tonight. If we could keep on subject and get this over with…" There was silence, so he continued. "You'll also be accompanied by Horace and fifteen other soldiers as an escort for Cassandra."

"Wait, who's Cassandra?" Caitlyn asked.

Crowley raised an eyebrow, but Will answered. "She's King Duncan's daughter. The Crown Princess."

"_That's_ where I've heard the name before," she said.

"When do we leave?" Halt asked.

"In another week," Crowley answered. Caitlyn groaned. "You're certainly impatient," Crowley observed.

Caitlyn shrugged. "Yep. I don't think it runs in the family though, considering how Halt can be still as a rock and about as intelligent at any given time."

"Caitlyn, I've got a quiver full of arrows and two sharpened knives on me at the moment. I'd suggest quitting the jibes as I have a tendency to launch them at people I deem annoying," Halt growled at her with narrowed eyes.

Caitlyn snorted. "You wouldn't use them on your sister, though."

"Think about why you left Hibernia."

Caitlyn remembered Ferris. "You're nothing like him." She knew that Halt would know who she was talking about.

Halt grinned suddenly. "Finally. I got one compliment out of an ocean of insults."

"Who are you people talking about?" Crowley asked, mystified. He turned toward the younger Ranger. "Do you know?"

Will shifted. "I'm not positive." He was perfectly positive. He just wanted Halt to tell the commandant if he wanted to rather than he, Will, tell of the past that his mentor preferred hidden.

Caitlyn yawned. "Since we seem to be speaking of nothing productive, I'm going to bed."

"Where?" Halt asked.

Caitlyn blinked. She hadn't quite thought about that part yet. "I'll find a room at an inn."

Halt sighed. "No, I'll get you a room at the castle. Or Crowley can, if he's getting one for himself for the night."

Crowley smiled. "Oh, I'll be staying here longer than one night. I'm taking a short vacation from my fief and I figured that since I had to come here anyway, I might as well take a break here."

Will spoke up for the first time in a while. "But don't you have paperwork back at Araluen Fief too?"

Crowley waved a dismissive hand. "And should that mean that I don't ever get to take leave of my duties?" He didn't wait for an answer. "I'll be staying for a couple days."

He, Halt and Caitlyn all stood up. They said their goodnights and left, leaving Will alone in his little cabin once again.

* * *

Crowley walked with Caitlyn through the halls of the castle after he had helped to get her a room for the duration of her stay. Their quarters were in the same general area, so Crowley had decided to be a gentleman and escort her.

"Crowley, I already know my way around here," she told him.

He glanced at her curiously. "When did you come inside?"

"Well, I went into Halt's quarters on my first night—"

"Without permission, am I correct?"

She snorted. "I came in through the window. Do you think it was with or without permission?"

Crowley stifled another laugh. Halt's sister was full of surprises. "You climbed up the wall and broke into his room?

"That was how I figured out he was married," she said thoughtfully and Crowley had to pull his cowl further over his head to hide the broad grin on his face from her. "Then he didn't even recognize my seal on the letter I left him."

"You broke into a Ranger's personal quarters to drop of a letter." It wasn't a question, it was a statement of disbelief. Crowley shook his head. "You really are Halt's sister, by state of mind as well as blood. I can definitely see Halt doing that to someone to keep them on their toes."

"Looks like I better watch out, then," she muttered.

"But I don't understand. That would show you nothing but his rooms. How do you know your way around the entire castle if he didn't see you?"

"I got stabbed the night before he left on a mission and got planted in the infirmary while he was gone. I saw both Will and Pauline, but they didn't know who I was."

Crowley stared at her for a moment. "You got stabbed? By who?"

She shrugged nonchalantly. "Just some drunk. I don't know who. I was in an alley after dark—I guess I had it coming."

Crowley stopped walking. Caitlyn turned, confused. He grinned. "So much for knowing your way around." He nodded toward a door to his right. "There's your rooms right there."

She smiled and gave him a mock glare. "You distracted me. I would have found it on my own."

Crowley chuckled. "I'm sure you would have." He opened the door and gestured for her to go inside. She just rolled her eyes.

"I'm perfectly capable of opening a door by myself, Crowley."

He winked. "I walked you all the way here. I might as well hold to the pretense of a gentleman."

"Oh, so a Ranger can't actually _be_ a gentleman?"

"Not unless they're on vacation or in the presence of a lady," he joked. "And both seem to apply to me at the moment."

"Oh, fine," she said, relenting. "I suppose I'll see you around for the next week," she added as she swept through the door with the grace of a lady raised in the court. _She was raised as a princess, _he reminded himself.

He closed the door behind her, still smiling slightly. And as he walked to his rooms, for some reason he couldn't fathom, he had an unusual spring to his step.

On the other side of the door, Caitlyn leaned against the wall, her eyes closed, the grin on her lips the result of something she'd lost a long time ago—something she never thought she'd have again.

**Sorry if the reason for them returning to Hibernia was too cheesy, but I had to find a way to make them go because I really wanted to write Caitlyn meeting up with her son again. I hope you liked the chapter!**

**I repeat the words of every other author on this website: Review!**

**-Rydd Rider**


	11. Another Day

**From what I can tell from the reviews, Caitlyn/Crowley romance is accepted and approved. ^_^ Which I'm happy about, 'cause that's what I had in mind. ^_^ Anyhoo, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ranger's Apprentice**

Crowley strolled around the castle, aiming for nothing, doing nothing. It was a nice change from his usual busy life, but he wasn't at ease with all the people so close around him. Years of living the dangerous life that Rangers led had made him always on edge, no matter what his cheery demeanor might make people think.

He glanced around unobtrusively, looking for a less crowded place. There wasn't one. The cobblestone streets were completely packed. Then a grin lit up his face. The _streets_ were packed, but there were always other options.

Ten minutes later, he sat on top of the roof of the castle, out of view of the oppressive crowds. He heaved a sigh of relief, at least until he heard something behind him. He nocked an arrow and spun to face whoever it was, arrow pointed at them.

Caitlyn smirked and raised her hands in a submissive gesture. "I surrender," she said sarcastically.

Crowley lowered his bow and gave her an apologetic grin. "Sorry about that."

She shrugged, coming and sitting next to him. "It's fine. You probably don't like people sneaking up on you. With your job, I'd guess that you have a lot of enemies."

Crowley gave a short laugh, one that was more rueful than humorous. "We're Rangers. It's an occupational hazard."

"I suppose you could call it that," Caitlyn said, smiling.

They sat in silence for a moment. Caitlyn glanced over at Crowley and saw that he was looking at her. "What?" she asked.

He blinked, like he hadn't even noticed he was staring. Then he grinned. "Sorry. I just can't get used to the fact that grim old Halt has a sister. It was strange enough to figure out that his brother was a king."

"His twin brother, no less."

Crowley's eyes widened. "_Twin_ brother? I think that Halt may have skipped out on that little detail. He seems fond of doing that. I mean, when I met him for the first time, he'd said that he'd run away from Hibernia because someone wanted him dead." He shook his head. "Though it's true that he's never been averse to twisting the truth."

Caitlyn didn't respond that time.

"So, why did _you_ leave Hibernia?" Crowley asked her.

She shrugged. "Ferris was being an idiot."

Crowley raised an eyebrow. "You left your home country and your son because your brother was being and idiot?"

Caitlyn sighed. "You know how stubborn and bull-headed Halt can be at times, and how infuriating he gets when he's like that?" Crowley nodded, remembering when Halt left to rescue Will from Skandia and what he did to be able to go. "Well, Halt is still a good man. Ferris isn't. Ask anyone in Clonmel about his rule, aside from those last few days. At the end, Halt actually boosted his reputation by impersonating him."

"Halt's the kind of person who would do something like that, isn't he?" Crowley joked.

Caitlyn nodded. "Definitely."

"What I don't understand is why Halt has such contempt for authority and chivalry when he was raised as a prince." The word still sounded strange in Crowley's mouth—his long time friend, royalty?

Caitlyn snorted. "Halt's almost always been like that. He just never really agreed with our parents in practically anything at all. It just wasn't the way he was. And then when—" she stopped suddenly.

Crowley looked at her curiously. "'And then when' what?"

Caitlyn shook her head. She'd been about to tell Crowley why Halt had left Hibernia, but she figured that her brother would get more mad than she was willing to deal with if she did. "It's a long story," she told Crowley.

He laughed. "I'm going to be here all week."

Caitlyn gave an exaggerated sigh. "There's a lot you don't understand about women. One of them is, when she says 'it's a long story', either she's going to tell you without any prompting or she's not going to tell you at all."

"Well, you're not exactly like most women I've met," he said.

She flipped her hair over her shoulder and fluttered her eyelashes jokingly. "Why not? Am I prettier?"

Crowley just blinked, not sure what to say—this conversation was going in directions he hadn't predicted. "That's not what I meant," he tried.

Caitlyn pretended to pout. "Oh, so I'm uglier?"

Crowley acted as though he were stung. "No! Not that… In fact, it's quite the opposite," he added in a quieter tone.

Caitlyn blinked and stared at him. He looked surprised that he'd said it himself. They looked at each other for a moment, then glanced away, both blushing. They were both glad that Halt wasn't here and listening—Crowley was certain that he'd never live it down and Caitlyn was sure that he'd go into protective older brother mode. Neither thought was desirable.

Abruptly, Caitlyn stood, brushing off her skirts. "I'll be off, then, Crowley," she said, not meeting the Ranger's eyes. "It's been nice talking to you."

Crowley smiled, but it was somewhat nervous and weak. "Pleasure speaking to you as well," he said.

She walked away then climbed down from the roof, leaving Crowley sitting alone. He closed his eyes and berated himself for saying what he did. She was his old friend's sister. He'd met her yesterday. He couldn't possibly feel for her. Besides, Halt would likely murder him if he did.

Then why was he still thinking of the way the sun reflected off her hair, and the way she smiled? Why did he feel this way?

Now on the ground, Caitlyn sighed and leaned against a stone wall in a mostly empty courtyard. She felt her cheeks burn again as she remembered Crowley's comment. He thought she was pretty. But then, so had many men she'd known briefly during her travels. But Crowley actually seemed sincere. Maybe she was just sugarcoating it, but she couldn't help herself. There was something stirring in her heart.

She knew that, despite her best intentions, despite the awkwardness of today's meeting, she would find a way to seek him out again tomorrow.

* * *

It was the end of the week now. Crowley's vacation was over and Caitlyn, Halt and Will were about to leave on their mission. The escort would be here at Redmont with Horace and Cassandra, ready to depart for Hibernia shortly, and Crowley would be heading back to Araluen Fief.

Crowley stood in the forest, watching a river wash past, thinking of how it related to him at the moment. His vacation had been wonderful, but like each twig and leaf in the river, it was over before he felt it had begun.

He felt a presence as someone walked up beside him. He stiffened momentarily, then relaxed as he saw who it was out of the corner of his eye.

"Hello, Caitlyn."

Caitlyn nodded and smiled. "I was wondering where I'd find you."

They'd seen each other every day for the past week. They'd given themselves different reasons for it, but they knew why—each of them felt it. They just didn't know if the other did. So they kept themselves quiet.

Crowley gave a heavy sigh. "Looks like the week is over."

"Thank you for the news flash, Crowley," she smirked.

He gave her a joking glare. "I was simply stating the facts."

Caitlyn didn't look like she had heard. She had a faraway look in her eyes and was staring at nothing in particular.

"Are you glad you're going to see your son again?" Crowley asked gently.

Caitlyn smiled and nodded, her eyes lighting up. "I haven't seen him in years."

Then a question occurred to Crowley that he hadn't thought of before. "What happened to your husband?"

Caitlyn glanced at him. "He died when Sean was about three. That was over twenty years ago."

Crowley nodded, feeling a bit of not completely unexpected relief that he wasn't feeling anything completely impossible. "Will you be staying in Hibernia?" he asked.

Caitlyn tried to measure his tone. Did he want her to stay there or come back? She shrugged. "I don't think my wandering days are over. I probably won't be staying in Hibernia." She saw him relax a bit, almost unconsciously, and felt a glow of pleasure. "I probably won't settle down either, though. I'm not patient at all. I felt like I was going to die when I had to wait a week and a half for Halt."

"Are you sure that wasn't the dagger?" he grinned. Caitlyn had told him the entire story of coming to Redmont.

Caitlyn grinned and shook her head. She glanced up at the sun, checking the time, and grimaced. "I need to go now."

Crowley sighed. "Alright. If you ever come back, make sure you drop by Araluen Fief. I'd be happy to see you."

Caitlyn smiled. "I'll be sure to." Crowley was staring at the river, seemingly lost in his thoughts. Almost without thinking, Caitlyn leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

Crowley jerked his head up at her touch, staring at her. Dark eyes met blue **(1) **and she felt mortification heat her cheeks. But then she noticed that his gaze wasn't horrified, more just filled with wonder. She gave him a small smile and turned and ran to where the group would be waiting for her to leave.

Crowley reached out a hand as if to stop her, but she didn't see. He brought his hand to his cheek where she had kissed him, and watched in mystification as her slim form darted in and out of the trees.

"She'll come back," he whispered to himself, more of an assurance than anything else. There would be another day.

**(1) Are Crowley's eyes blue? I think they are. Blond and blue eyed, tell me if I'm wrong please.**

**If you didn't like that chapter because you don't like fluff, sucks for you. I'm not apologizing. Don't like, don't read.**

**On a different note, aww, I liked writing this. I hoped you fluff-lovers thought it was cute, because that's what I was aiming for. Caitlyn and Crowley are pretty similar, if you think about it: sarcastic, funny, not afraid to needle Halt.**

**I hid a movie quote in here, altered by one word. Whoever can find it gets a shout out next chapter. ^_^ Have fun with that!**

**Review! I live on reviews! You don't want me to starve, do you? ^?^**

**-Rydd Rider**


	12. Attacked

**Congratulations to Arlothia and pixie blue, you got the movie quote! It was from How to Train Your Dragon, and the original quote was, "We're Vikings. It's an occupational hazard." I changed it from Vikings to Rangers. ^_^ Yeah, I'm not sure any of you remember that thing from last chapter… It's been a while. I'm so sorry!**

**Like I said in my A/N that I'm replacing with this chapter, I've been having a major case of writer's block because I had absolutely NO IDEA what to write. So thank you SO MUCH to those who reviewed to give me ideas, I'm combining a few of the ones I like best that could fit in. I got the plot mostly ready now, so enjoy! Oh, and thank you Arlothia for reminding me to update this thing or it might have been accidentally abandoned… O_O**

**Last thing: this note is to anyone who's read the Halt's Peril. I haven't, so if I get anything wrong from there, just deal with it, kay? I can't do too much about it. Anyhoo, to the long-awaited twelfth chapter! If it is long-awaited, that is.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ranger's Apprentice.**

Halt raised an eyebrow as Caitlyn neared the escort.

"Are you _blushing_, Caitlyn?" he asked, softly and incredulously.

She glared at him. "No, I just ran the whole way here."

"The whole way here from where?"

The coloring rose in her cheeks, Halt was sure of it. "None of your business," she snapped.

She turned and stalked toward where Will was talking to a knight and a lady.

"Horace, Cassandra, it's good to see you two!" Will exclaimed, embracing the knight and clapping him on the back. "Even though it's only been two months since I've last seen you, Horace."

Cassandra noticed Caitlyn standing nearby. "Hello," she said graciously. "I'm Cassandra, Crown Princess. Who might you be?"

"I'm Caitlyn Carrick," she replied. She noticed that the knight, Horace, gave her a curious look.

"I think I've heard that name before," he said thoughtfully.

"Probably in Hibernia," Will told him.

Cassandra looked between the two. "Hibernia? You heard her name in Hibernia?"

Caitlyn gave a short, light laugh. "I suppose that makes sense."

Cassandra raised an eyebrow. "I feel like I've been left out."

"Same with me, actually," Horace admitted.

Caitlyn sighed. "I am, unfortunately, Halt's sister."

As Cassandra blinked and Horace stared, Will muttered, "Is that unfortunate for him or for you?"

"Him, of course," Caitlyn said with a smile.

"Halt said you were dead," Horace said, then winced at how blunt and stupid that sounded. Caitlyn, however, didn't seem to mind much.

"He thought I was, apparently. I set that record straight rather quickly."

"I never knew that Halt had a sister in the first place," Cassandra said, eyeing at Caitlyn thoughtfully. The inspection made Caitlyn squirm, but she didn't let on.

The escort began to move. "Looks like we're heading out now," Will said, beginning to move in the direction of the soldiers. He didn't get far, however, as someone tackled him from behind.

"What, you thought you could leave without saying goodbye?" Alyss asked him sternly.

Will smiled broadly and embraced her. "Goodbye," he muttered in her ear. "I'll see you as soon as I get back."

Cassandra watched with a slightly downturned mouth. Horace noticed this and nudged her.

"Why does that still bother you?" he asked. "I mean, you have me, don't you?" he added with a smile.

Cassandra smiled back and leaned her head on his shoulder, still watching Will and Alyss. "It's just habit, I think."

Caitlyn watched the courier and Ranger with amusement—especially when she saw a similar display between Halt and Pauline a little ways away. Halt, however, didn't look as loving as Will did; Pauline seemed to be able to put up with that, however. Anyone who really knew Halt also knew that he was a lot softer on the inside then he would ever let on.

Alyss gave Will a parting peck on the cheek, and then turned, heading toward the castle. Pauline fell in to step next to her.

"I'm finally going home," Caitlyn whispered to herself, a smile growing on her face. But trouble would strike before she got that far.

* * *

Tennyson narrowed his eyes at the group. He recognized a few of them, that was the problem. There was the young knight who'd battled his Gennesnovans **(A/N I probably spelled that wrong, sorry)** and the other young man who'd exposed his plot to poison the knight. And worst of all, there was the man who he'd thought he'd done away with. Ferris, the king. What was he doing here in Araluen? Though it was true that he was heading in the direction of Hibernia—perhaps he was going home after a trip. That could explain it, Tennyson supposed.

The man next to him let out a sharp breath. "Her," he muttered.

"What, Nathan?" he asked softly. Nathan was his best recruit, originally from the higher-ups thanks to a lucky marriage, then degraded as his wife had turned him in for abuse—and when committed against a lady of her station, it had proven to be disastrous for him. Nathan pointed out one of two women sitting around the fire, along with the three men Tennyson had recognized. The woman had dark hair and bore a passing resemblance to Ferris.

"She's Lady Caitlyn, sister to King Ferris. Also my former wife, if you remember."

Tennyson gave a decisive nod at the information. He figured that Nathan wouldn't much care if she were killed, so he could see no reason to take precautions in his revenge against the three. He turned to the rest of the small group of warriors he'd brought with him.

"Now for an attack plan," he said with a smirk.

* * *

As the escort prepared to move on to Araluen's west coast, toward Hibernia. Halt turned at a soft whinny from Abelard. Had he sensed something? Again, the horse tossed his head. Something was wrong, strangers near camp, judging by the well-trained horse's actions.

"Where?" the Ranger asked softly.

Abelard obediently turned his head in the direction of the trees to Halt's right. Nearly at the same time, Halt heard something whistle through the air. Instinctively, he spun around with an arrow already nocked to the string of the longbow he kept handy at all times. His turn saved his back from being fatally torn through by the crossbow bolt; instead, his left shoulder took the blow. As the bolt buried itself into the flesh, Halt's arrow flew wide as he was forced to let go of his bow. With a grunted curse in pain, his right hand automatically went to the shaft sticking out of his shoulder.

Will heard the bolt and his master's swearing. He turned instantly and shot to where the bolt had come from. There was a sharp cry of pain as the crossbow wielding man went down. More bolts were fired, but they were ready now.

The several men surrounded Cassandra to protect her as the other men, including Horace and Will, went on the attack. Halt attacked with his saxe in his right hand, but without his other arm he wasn't doing anywhere near the damage his could have. Men seemed to come from everywhere.

"I killed you already," someone behind Halt hissed.

The Ranger turned to find Tennyson glaring at him with a fierce distorted scowl on his face. "If you had I'd hardly be here at the moment, wouldn't I?" he responded with unerring logic.

"My man shot you in the back," Tennyson argued. Halt hated the men who wouldn't bow to even visible evidence—this one in particular.

"I'm afraid he was only my twin brother," Halt smirked. "I'm the long lost heir, haven't you heard? Oh yes, that's right, you were chased out of Hibernia long before that was realized, weren't you?"

Tennyson blinked. "I could have sworn you were part of this."

Halt grinned sardonically. "Oh, I was. I suppose you could say I set Ferris up to getting rid of you. I take full responsibility for that." Before Tennyson could retort, Halt roughly thrust his saxe into this man's belly.

"And I take full responsibility for that too," Halt told the corpse.

The skirmish lasted only a few more minutes. Finally the only enemies who remained were the ones who lay still, the rest having fled. Halt walked over to where the escort was gathering, gripping his wounded shoulder so tightly his knuckles were white. Halfway there, Will intercepted him and led him to a tent despite Halt's protests.

"We need get that shoulder tended to," Will told him. "And knowing you, I'm going to have to be the one who makes sure that happens. Then I can maybe help the other wounded soldiers."

Halt sighed and gave in. "Fine. If you need help, ask Caitlyn. She'd be good at this kind of thing."

Will nodded. "Okay."

After dressing Halt's shoulder, Will looked for Caitlyn. Brow furrowed when he couldn't find her, he nudged Horace's arm as he passed. "Where's Caitlyn?"

The knight paused to glance around. "She's not walking around here, from what I can tell. She's not among the wounded either."

Will experienced a brief moment of dread. "She's not dead, is she?" Anxiously, he looked to where the bodies had been placed. Caitlyn's was not there and he exhaled in relief, imagining only for an instant his mentor's grief if his sister had been killed so soon after them being reunited. Then relief turned to confusion.

"Horace, if she's not here, where is she?" His eyes widened and he turned to Horace.

"You don't think those people took her, do you?"

**Argh, that ending was nowhere near how intense I wanted it to be. *sigh* I'll just have to deal with that, I guess. At least I finally got this chapter up.**

**FYI, next chapter in Trick of the Eyes is coming along pretty hard too. I'm finding it tricky to type what's going on with the Celtica expedition without totally copying it right out of the book, so I'm trying to get around that. Sorry, I'll try to get a move on.**

**Review please! And yes, I believe I deserve to get a couple rants from not updating for more than three weeks. ^_^ Again, terribly sorry.**

**-Rydd Rider**


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